


Dr. Horrible's High School Blog

by Elizabeth_Watson1895



Category: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, AnimalShelter!Penny, Cheerleader!Groupie, F/M, Football!Hammer, POV Penny (Dr. Horrible), POV Third Person, Robotics!Billy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-08
Updated: 2017-08-13
Packaged: 2018-12-12 22:49:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11746797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elizabeth_Watson1895/pseuds/Elizabeth_Watson1895
Summary: Penny is a normal high school girl, who's volunteered at the Caring Hands Animal Shelter for the past two years. She has a crush on a boy in her homeroom, Billy. While trying to get signatures, Penny meets Nathan (Captain Hammer), and her whole life gets turned upside down.This takes place in a high school AU, while mostly following the plot of Dr. Horrible, but from Penny's perspective.





	1. Act One

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Dr. Horrible or any of the characters.

 

                Penny sat in homeroom, waiting for the cute blond boy she always saw but never talked to. Billy, his name was. He kept to himself, mostly.

                But he seemed different from the other boys. Nicer. Definitely more shy. Smarter. He must be a genius. He was on the robotics team, and he always seemed to be working on something new.

                The bell rang, and Billy slid into his seat. He looked at her, but when he caught her eye, he immediately looked down at his desk.

                “Alright, roll call!” the teacher said, standing up. “Stacey Berg?”

                “Here,” the blond cheerleader sitting in the corner called.

“Penny Day?”

                “Here!” she answered.

                “Billy Harris?”

                The blond boy looked up. “Here,” he mumbled.

                “Maurissa Shirk?”

                “Here,” the Asian cheerleader sitting next to Stacey called.

                “And Steve Tancharoen?”

                “Here,” the blond guy with a lisp responded.

                “Alright. That’s all. You guys can do whatever until the bell rings.” The teacher sat down in her desk.

                Penny pulled out a notebook with plans for a flyer for the new animal shelter. She’d worked there for two years now, and they desperately needed a new building. This flyer had to be perfect. If they could get enough support, they could easily convince the mayor to lease them this old building that they wanted to tear down.

                Billy mumbled something, and Penny looked over at him questioningly. But he was already back to looking at his plans.

                It looked like some kind of gun. Penny frowned, slightly concerned, before turning back to her flyer.

                The bell rang, and they all stood up and clamored out of the classroom.

                The following day, in homeroom, she thought she heard Billy say something again. It sounded like “Love your hair.” But that couldn’t be right, could it?

                “What?” she asked, turning to him.

                “No-I…love the…air,” he replied. She smiled to herself. It was the first conversation they’d ever had.

                Today was the day she was going to start asking for petition signatures. She had permission to leave class a few minutes early and wait outside the doors and hand out flyers as kids left school.

                Just before the bell rang, she excused herself from class and ran down to the doors, excitement pumping in her chest. Could she actually do this?

                As the first students filtered out, she started holding out flyers.

                “Will you lend a caring hand to shelter those who need it?” she asked one student, who looked at her and walked right past.

                “Only have to sign your name!” she called to the next one. “Don’t even have to read it,” she added dejectedly.

                “Would you help?” she asked, but they just brushed past. “No? How about you?” she asked person behind them.

                She sighed. If this was going to work, she had to go up to people. She spotted a boy in a blue hoody, texting or something. Perfect!

                She walked over to him. “Will you lend a caring hand?”

                “Ahh!” he yelled, looking startled. “Ah, uh, what?”

                “I was wondering if I could just...” She trailed off, looking at his face. It was the boy from homeroom! “Hey, I know you!” she exclaimed.

                “Hello,” he said distractedly, looking up. He seemed to register her words, and smiled a little bit. “You know me? Cool. I mean. Yeah, you do. Do you?” he asked.

                She frowned, but still smiled a little “From homeroom.”

                “Second row, third from the back, except last week you sat closer to the front. Or, if that was you. It coulda been someone else, I mean, I’ve SEEN you.” He paused in the middle of this ramble. “Billy is my name.”

                “I’m Penny.” She said. He was on his phone again. “What are you doing?”

                “I’m texting,” he replied. “It’s very important or I would stop. What are you doing?” He only looked up for a moment before going back to his phone.

                “Actually I’m out here volunteering for the Caring Hands Animal Shelter. Can you spare a minute?"

                “Umm...” he looked around, seeming to look for someone. He must’ve not seen them, because he replied, “Ok, go.”  

                “Ok, we’re hoping to open up a new location soon, expand our efforts. There’s this great building nearby that the city is just going to demolish and turn into a parking lot, but if we get enough signatures...

                “Signatures?” he asked derisively.

                “Yeah,” she replied, slightly hurt.

                “I’m sorry, go on,” Billy said, looking up again and smiling.

                “I was saying um, maybe we could get the city to donate the building to our cause. We would be able to provide 250 new kennels, get animals off the streets and into dog training so they could...” she trailed off, realizing he wasn’t listening, “buy rocket packs and go to the moon and become... florists... You’re not really interested in animals are you?” She frowned a little.

                “No, I am, I just…think there are more pressing issues than abandoned animals,” he replied.

                “This petition is about the building,” she reminded him.

                “I’d love to sign it,” Billy responded. She beamed. Her first signature! And it was the cute boy from homeroom, no less

                “Thank you,” she told him.

                “Sorry I... I come on strong,” Billy apologized. She smiled again.

                “But you signed,” she pointed out

                “Wouldn’t want to turn my back on a fellow homeroom person,” he trailed off, looking over his shoulder again.

                “Well if _we_ can’t stick together I don’t…” she trailed off. He wasn’t paying attention again. “I’ll probably see you there!” she called, walking away.

                What was his problem? He seemed interested, but then he’d get distracted. He was just so inconsistent. Well, at least he signed.

                “One down, 5 million to go,” she sighed.

                In her distraction, she didn’t notice the van hurtling towards her. Out of nowhere, someone tackled her, pushing her into the pile of garbage by the school’s dumpster.

                Stunned, she tried to orientate herself. She swore she saw the person who had rescued her arguing with…Billy?

                “I must be in shock,” she muttered to herself, picking herself up.

                “Thank you…” she said to the person who had rescued her. It was a senior, one of the star football players she thought. He had chestnut brown hair arranged just perfectly, and muscles that rippled under his football jersey.

                “Hammer. Nathan Hammer,” he supplied, smiling cheekily at her.

                “You saved my life,” she stammered. “I can’t explain how much it means that you…”

                “Don’t worry about it,” he said, smirking.

                He was handsome, very handsome. And the way he looked at her. It made her heart beat like a drum.

                “What do you say we go to dinner?” he asked.


	2. Act Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Penny agrees to go on a date with Nathan. She and Billy become friends in homeroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing

                Penny smiled at Nathan. “Okay. Where? When?”

                “How about tonight? After all, there’s no waiting for the Hammer-Man!” She cringed. That was a little cheesy. And weird. “I’ll pick you up at 6:00 in the Hammer-mobile.” She cringed again. Really?

                “Okay,” she said, a little less sure. “Where are we going?”

                “Your choice, baby.”

                She frowned, thinking. Then, it struck her. “There’s a benefit dinner at a soup kitchen I sometimes volunteer at! We should go there.”

                “Alright,” he said, sounding confused. “Whatever you want.”

                “See you at 6!” she called, walking off.

                She walked home, thinking over everything that had just happened. She wasn’t sure about Nathan. He was so handsome, and he’d saved her life. Dinner was the least she could do to thank him. But he seemed….cheesy. And just…off.

                She shook her head, walking up the steps to the animal shelter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                Two hours later, she was dressed for their date, and waiting in the window of her house. Nathan pulled up in a sleek black sports car. He got out, walked up to the front step, and rang the doorbell.

                She ran to meet him, opening the door. “Hi,” she said.

                “Hey,” he replied. He was still wearing his football jersey. Did he ever take it off? “I brought you flowers.” He handed her a bouquet of roses. Her face lit up.

                “Thank you! They’re so pretty!” She ran into the kitchen to put them in a vase, then hurried back over to him.

                “After you,” he said, offering her his arm.

                “Thank you,” she replied. They walked out to his car. She was already regretting wearing the heels she’d chosen. They were far too tall. She could barely walk!

                He opened the door for her, and she climbed in. She buckled her seatbelt as he went back around, hoisting himself into the driver’s seat. He started the car and drove away.

                “So where is this place we’re going?” he asked.

                “It’s on the corner of Third Street and New Haven.” He nodded, seeming to know where she was talking about.

                “How was your day?” he asked.

                “Good. I worked at the animal shelter after school.”

                “You work at the animal shelter?” he asked.

                “Yeah,” she replied. “I was actually working on getting signatures for a petition to get a new building when you saved me.”

                “Really? Tell me more.” He seemed genuinely interested. She smiled.

                “Well, there’s this old building that the city is going to tear down, but we could use it for another shelter. The problem is, they won’t listen to us. I was hoping if we got enough signatures, the mayor might change his mind.”

                “Huh,’ he replied. “I actually know the mayor. He’s a big fan of the football team. I could talk to him for you.”

                “You would do that?” she asked, amazed.

                “Of course. Anything for the prettiest girl in the school.” She blushed, ducking her head. “Plus, everyone is good, at least a little. If this is a good cause, I’m sure he’ll see reason.” She smiled.

                The car stopped, signaling their arrival. Nathan hopped out, going around and opening her door. “Thank you,” she said, smiling bigger. They walked across the street to the soup kitchen, which seemed busy.

                As soon as they opened the door, Penny could smell the rich soup. “Smells delicious,” she commented.

                “Mmm,” Nathan said, before turning to one of the workers. “Table for two, please.”

                “Oh, no,” Penny said, cutting him off. “This place isn’t like that. See the line? We go through that to get food, and then we can sit wherever.”

                He frowned, but followed her into line. There was a bucket in front for donations. Nathan took out his wallet and dumped a $100 bill into it. Penny smiled and hugged his arm.

                “That’s so generous of you,” she said.

                “Oh, that? It’s nothing,” he said, brushing her comment off.

                They each grabbed a bowl, which one of the workers filled. “Thank you,” Penny said sweetly. She led Nathan over to a nearby table.

                “Do you volunteer often?” he asked, eating a spoonful of soup.

                “As much as I can. The animal shelter keeps me busy, and homework, too. But I try to come here at least once a week if not more.”

                “You must enjoy it,” he said.

                “Look around,” she replied. “We’re living with the lost and found. These people come from all different backgrounds, and they need our help. This kitchen provides them food. Just when they feel they’ve almost drowned, we help them back onto solid ground.” He just smiled in response. “You believe there’s good in everybody’s heart. Keep it safe and sound.” She stood up, grabbing a few napkins. One of the regulars saw her, and they hugged.

                She walked back to the table, explaining, “With hope, you can do your part to turn a life around.”

                I cannot believe my eyes, she thought. The world’s finally growing wise. Look at all of these people who came to donate to this cause. It seems to me some kind of harmony is on the rise.

                She frowned. She’d thought she’d seen Billy out of the corner of her eye, but when she turned, no one was there.

                Why was she thinking about Billy? Some boy who wasn’t interested in her, would never be interested in her, verses this charming, sweet, handsome one in front of her who was actually interested.

                They finished their date with a quiet ease. Nathan drove her home.

                “This was fun,” she said. “I had a great time.”

                “Do you want to go out again tomorrow?” he asked. She smiled, and considered it.

                “Okay, why not?” she replied. “Bye! See you tomorrow!” she called as she ran inside. She barely stopped inside the front door, running straight up to her room.

                A warm feeling spread throughout her. Was she falling for him?

                The rest of the night passed in a blur. She could barely sleep, barely focus on anything. Any doubts she’d had at the beginning of the night had disappeared entirely.

                The next day, Nathan picked her up again. She ran out to meet him, a glow spreading inside her chest.

                “Hi, Nathan!”

                “Hey, Penny,” he replied. “Hop in.” She climbed into the car. “Where to?”

                “I chose yesterday,” she pointed out. He shook his head.

                “Nah, go ahead. Choose again.”

                “Well, there’s this really great frozen yogurt place. And it’s right next to this beautiful park-“

                “Point the way,” he told her.

                As they sat in the park, eating frozen yogurt, Penny smiled to herself. She couldn’t believe her luck! It was surreal that a guy like _Nathan_ could like a girl like her. She had always been afraid to show affection, but he made it easy. It was like he knew.

                For some reason though, she kept thinking of Billy. She could have sworn she’d seen him half a dozen times, but she could never be sure.

                “Hey, watch this!” Nathan said. He hopped on one of the pedal boats, pedaling as fast as he could. He waved to her, and laughing, she waved back.

                Rapture inside of me is on the rise, she thought, smiling.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                The following Monday, in homeroom, she sat down next to Billy once again.

                “Hey, Billy,” she said.

                He looked up, surprised. “Hi…Penny.”

                “It is so dumb that we’ve been sitting by each other for so long and never spoke,” she said.

                “I know,” he replied. “All those months in a stunningly boring class.”

                “I’m a fan of homeroom,” she said awkwardly.

                “Psych! I love it.”

                Penny smiled. “The smell of pencils,“ she started.

                “Mmmm,” Billy agreed.  

                “The free time to work on whatever you like.”

                “So good.” Billy set a white paper bag on his desk, digging inside it. “Hey, this is weird. I ordered one frozen yogurt and they gave me two.” He pulled two frozen yogurts out of the bag. “You don’t happen to like frozen yogurt do you?”

                “I love it!” she exclaimed.

                “You’re kidding! What a crazy, random happen-stance. Here.” He handed her one of the containers.

                “Thank you,” she replied, taking it from him. She opened it and took a bite.

                “So how was your weekend?” he asked. “Did you spend the whole time hunting wild signatures?”

                “Um, actually, I went on a date,” she admitted. Why was it so hard for her to tell him that? She had a boyfriend now.  

                “Get right outta town,” Billy replied. “How was that?”

                “Unexpected,” she answered. “He’s a really good looking guy, and I thought he was kinda cheesy at first-“

                “Trust your instincts,” Billy interjected quietly.

                “But, he turned out to be totally sweet. Sometimes people are layered like that. There’s something totally different underneath than what’s on the surface.” She smiled, thinking about Nathan.

                “And sometimes there’s a third, even deeper level and that one is the same as the top surface one,” Billy told her.

                “Huh?” she asked, confused.

                “Like with pie,” he added lightly. It seemed…almost forced. But she was probably imagining things. “So, you gonna see him again?”

                “I think I will,” she replied, thinking about it.

                “Huh.” She looked over at him. His fist was clenched tightly around the spork, which was pressed into his leg.

                “Billy?” she asked, concerned.

                “Yeah?”

                “You’re driving a spork into your leg.”

                He looked down. “So I am. Hilarious.” She looked at him weirdly, thoroughly confused.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                Nathan found her during lunch that day. “Hey, babe.”

                “Hi, Nathan,” she said as he sat down next to her.

                “Whatcha thinking about?”

                “Oh, just a friend I made in homeroom,” she replied vaguely.

                “What’s this friend’s name?” he asked.

                “Billy,” she replied. He frowned at that, but she didn’t register it. “He’s really nice.”

                “Huh. Well, maybe I should come meet him. How about I come to your homeroom tomorrow?”

                “Alright,” she replied, smiling. “Why not?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                The next day, in homeroom, Billy had brought frozen yogurt again.

                “Thanks,” Penny said, sitting on top of the desk. “So, how’s life?”

                He screwed up his face. “Not awesome. I applied for a job, and the process hasn’t gone well.”

                “Oh, no!” she replied.

                “I just, you know, REALLY think I’m qualified for this, this job and I just can’t get my foot in the door,” he explained.

                “I’m sure you will,” she told him reassuringly.  

                “I wanna do great things, you know? I wanna be an achiever. Like Mr. Borse.”

                “The weird science teacher who hates everyone?” she asked, frowning.

                “I meant Ghandi,” Billy corrected sheepishly. Penny could tell he didn’t mean it.

                “Well, I’ve gotten turned down from plenty of jobs. Even fired a few times,” she confided.

                “I can’t imagine anyone firing you,” Billy said, looking surprised.

                “Neither could I. Now I can visualize it really well,” she said, a knot of anxiety returning just from thinking about it. That had not been a good time in her life. “But, you know... everything happens-“

                “Don’t say ‘for a reason’,” Billy implored.

                “No,” she said quickly, trying to recover. “I’m just saying that… everything happens.”

                “Not to me,” Billy replied sadly.

                “Hey," she said, putting her hand on his knee. "When I was younger, I was so lost and lonely. I thought love was only in fairytales, and that trouble always came for me. But even in the darkness, every color can be found. Anytime you’re hurt, there’s one who has it worse around. And every day of rain will keep you growing seeds you’re sowing in the ground.” She smiled at him, but he looked at the floor. “So keep your head up, Billy buddy,” she said, reaching out and lifting his chin gently. He looked up at her, and she instinctively leaned in. She thought he did, too.

                Wait, what was she doing? She had a boyfriend. She leaned back. “It’s like Nathan’s always saying,” she said, feeling flustered.

                “Right. Him,” Billy said, sounding a little, almost…angry. “How are things with ‘cheesy on the outside’?” he asked.

                “ Good. They’re good. He’s nice,” she replied. “I’ll be interested to know what you think of him. He said he might stop by.”

                “Stop by here?” he asked, sounding alarmed.

                “Yeah,” she said, wondering why he was so upset.

                “Oh! Goodness. Look at my wrist. I gotta go,” he said, standing up.

                “But the bell hasn’t rung…” she said, standing up, too.

                “I don’t need to stay. See ya,” he turned and ran out of the door, and straight into Nathan.

                “Oh, pardon,” Nathan said, looking down at Billy. She’d never thought of Billy as short until she saw him next to Nathan.  

                “Pardon,” Billy said quietly, looking at the floor.

                She walked over to both of them. “Billy, this is Nathan Hammer.”

                “Oh! Billy, the laundry buddy,” Nathan exclaimed. “Well it is very nice to meet you.”

                “We’re meeting now for the first time,” Billy said uncomfortably. Penny frowned.  What was going on?

                “You look familiar,” Nathan said, frowning at Billy.

                “One of those faces I guess,” Billy replied, still looking at the floor.

                “Have I seen you at the gym?” Nathan asked, still trying to place him

                “At the gym,” Billy repeated.

                “I don’t go to the gym,” Nathan said, dismissing that idea. “I’m just naturally like this. Oh well. Who wants to know what the Mayor is doing behind closed doors? He is signing over a certain building to a Caring Hands Group as a new animal shelter.”

                Penny’s eyes widened. “Oh my God!” she exclaimed.

                “Yep. Apparently the only signature he needed was my fist,” Nathan announced. Penny frowned. “But, with a pen in it. That I was signing with,” he explained.

                “I, I can’t believe it!” Penny said, covering her face with her hands.

                “Congratulations,” Billy said half-heartedly.

                “Thank you,” she replied. “Thank you!” she repeated, turning to Nathan.

                Just then, the bell rang. Penny started for the door, expecting both boys to follow her. She was in the hallway before she realized neither were with her. She turned and saw Nathan talking to Billy, who looked terrified.

                Something _weird_ was going on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!  
> This chapter was much longer than I expected, since it covers all of Act Two. I had fun writing Penny and Nathan's date, since we don't really see much of it during the actual series.
> 
> Tell me what you think in the comments!  
> EW


	3. Act Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act Three of Doctor Horrible's High School Blog. Penny prepares for the opening of the new Caring Hands Animal Shelter, while dealing with the rumors flying around the school

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long!

ACT THREE

                “Did you hear?” Maurissa asked Stacy. “Nathan Hammer has a new girlfriend.”

                “No!” Stacy gasped. “Really? Who is it?”

                “I don’t know her name. She’s that weird animal shelter girl from homeroom.”

                “Oh, her.”

                “They say that its ‘real’ love,”

                “So romantic,” Stacy replied, rolling her eyes.

                “It’s the perfect story, so they say,” another girl added, joining the conversation.

                “They say he saved her life,” Steve added, coming up from behind them.

                “She works with the homeless and doesn’t eat meat,” Maurissa told them.

                “Well, I have a problem with her,” Stacy said, wrinkling her nose.

                “Apparently, she made Nathan convince the mayor to give that old building to that animal shelter she works at. She couldn’t even do it by herself.”

                “She’s just using him!” Stacy exclaimed.

                “Hey, guys,” Nathan said, joining the circle. “What are you all talking about?”

                “Your new girlfriend,” Stacy blurted out. Everyone else stared daggers at her. She shrugged.

                “Oh yeah! It’s so nice, I just might sleep with the same girl twice,” he said.

                “It’s better the second time,” Steve assured him.

                “You get to do the weird stuff,” another football player told him, clapping him on the back.

                “We do the weird stuff,” Stacy said, crazy-eyed. Maurissa elbowed her. Nathan froze, looking disgusted. He shook his head and walked away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                Penny walked past, trying to ignore how everyone turned to watch her. She slipped into homeroom, looking around for Billy. She pulled out the two frozen yogurts she’d bought.

                The bell rang, but there was no sign of him. She sighed. She heard Maurissa and Stacy whispering in the corner, and she knew they were talking about her.

                _This is perfect for me,_ she told herself. _At least, that’s what they say. I_ guess _he’s pretty okay._ She frowned to herself. _After years of stormy sailing, have I finally found the bay?_ Everyone else seemed to think yes, and her head said yes, but her heart said no.

                She recalled a conversation she’d had with Nathan the day before….

                _“They say we’ll have kennels and food,” she said, walking over to him. “We can open by Monday, thanks to you.”_

_“Thanks to me,” he agreed._

                Who said something like that? He was egotistical, and she wasn’t sure if he actually cared about him. And she knew there was a rumor going around that they slept together, even though it wasn’t true. She wondered where it started. Something in her gut told her it was Nathan himself, but she ignored it. _Should I stop pretending?_ She wondered. _Or is this a brand new day?_

                She felt Billy’s absence strongly as the bell signaling the end of homeroom rang. They’d only been talking for a few days, but he was already such an important part of her life. She couldn’t stand not getting to talk to him.

                “Hey,” Nathan said, running up to join her.

                “Oh, hey,” she said as he startled her out of her reverie. “How are you?”

                “What you should be asking is how am I?” he replied. “And I am awesome, as usual.” She grimaced. It was that same thing _again_.

                “Great. That’s…great.” She looked away.

                “What’s wrong?” he asked, noticing.

                “Oh, nothing,” she replied.

                “No, really. You know you can tell me anything, right?”

                “It’s just…” she sighed. “Everyone is talking, you know?”

                “So?” he asked. “Everyone is always talking about me. You get used to it.”

                She sighed again. “Well, I’m not. It’s really weird. And then, Billy wasn’t in homeroom today.” She felt weird talking to him about that. But Billy was just a friend, so there was no reason not to…right?

                “You seem to like this Billy guy an awful lot,” Nathan said, frowning. “Aren’t I good enough for you?”

                “Of course,” she reassured him. “It’s just….nice to have a friend to talk to. With you, it’s more complicated.” She knew she wasn’t saying the right things, but she didn’t really care.

                “You don’t know Billy like I do. Stay away from him. It’ll be better for you,” he warned her. She frowned, confused.

                “How do you know Billy?” she asked.

                “It’s a long story, and one no one as pretty as you should be troubled with,” he said, grabbing her cheek and pinching it. She smiled, but internally she was fuming.

                What history did Billy and Nathan have? She _had_ to know.

                “See you at the animal shelter opening?” he asked. She nodded mutely. “Alright. Bye, Penny.”

                “Bye,” she said. She was surprised by his use of her name. Sometimes she felt he didn’t even know her name. It seemed like no one, except Billy, knew her name.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                Later that night, Penny stood in front of her wardrobe, getting ready for the opening of the animal shelter. This was her biggest achievement yet! She should be excited beyond belief. But something was just…wrong.

                She finally picked out a blue dress. It was one of her favorites, and she’d been saving it for something special. She just hoped this actually was special.

                A horn outside signaled Nathan’s arrival. She pulled on her favorite pair of red heels, and ran out the door. She climbed into the passenger side with a comfortability she hadn’t had the first time.

                “Hey, Pen,” he said.

                “Nathan,” she replied, looking over at him. He was _still_ in his football jersey. Really? “You nervous?”

                “For what?” he asked.

                “Your speech,” she replied. He looked at her blankly. “You mean you didn’t prepare?”

                “I didn’t know I was giving one,” he said.

                “I told you! Like four times!” She couldn’t believe this.

                “I thought you meant you were giving a speech.”

                She sighed. “No. For some reason, the mayor wanted _you_ to speak. Here.” She dug a stack of cue-cards out of her purse. “I wrote this for myself when I thought I might give the speech. You can use them.”

                “Oh. Thanks.” He took the cards, tucking them into his pocket. He started driving, and Penny settled back into the leather seat.

                They arrived at the new Caring Hands Animal Shelter, and Penny couldn’t help but feel excited. This was really happening! Maybe not exactly in the way she hoped, but it was still happening!

                They were met by some aides and escorted into the building and onto the stage. They were informed that they were supposed to sit in these chairs. The mayor would speak first, and then it was Nathan’s turn.

                “Hello and welcome everybody,” the mayor said, beaming at the audience. “And in just a few minutes we’ll unveil the statue of the man himself. Thank you. Thank you. Justice has a name, and the name it has (besides justice) is Nathan Hammer. Ladies and Gentlemen; your hero, the star of the football team.”

                Penny frowned. That was a weird introduction. Why on earth would the Mayor call Nathan a hero? Because he won a few football games? That was no reason. And he’d only talked to the mayor on her request.

                Nathan had stood up and was standing in front of the podium. She looked up, trying to be engaged. “Thank you. Thank you Mayor for those kind words.” He looked down at her cue cards. “I hate the animal...” he paused, and she mentally urged him to keep going. “-cruelty problem that plagues our city.” She breathed a sigh of relief. “Everyone, even animals, should have the basic..." He trailed off, setting down the card.  “You know what? I don’t need tiny cue cards.” She frowned. What was he doing? He didn’t have a speech prepared.

                “When I fell DEEPLY in love with my serious, long term girlfriend Penny, wave your hand Penny.” She stared at him, but shyly waved a hand at the audience. “There she is. Cute huh? Sort of a quiet, nerdy thing. Not my usual, but nice. Anyway, she turned me on to this whole animal... thing... which is terrible, and I realized, I’m not the only hero in the room tonight. I’m not the only one who’s fighting.” She smiled. Was he….

                “Everyone’s a hero in their own way. So I thank my girlfriend Penny yeah, we totally had sex.” She blanched. So it was him spreading the rumor. She slid out of her chair, wanting off the stage immediately. As she inched her way off, Nathan was still talking.

                “She showed me there’s so many different muscles I can flex there’s the deltoids of compassion there’s the abs of being kind it’s not enough to bash in heads you’ve got to bash in minds.” That didn’t even make sense.

                “So everyone’s a hero in their-“

                “Wait!” Billy ran in, carrying something. Nathan frowned as he saw him. Penny gasped, hiding behind one of the chairs. Billy looked around, almost smirking. “Look at these people. Why can’t they see what I see? Why can’t they hear the lies?” Penny clapped a hand over her mouth. What did he mean? “Maybe the fees to pricey for them to realize your disguise is slipping.”

                “I don’t know-“ Nathan started, but Billy interrupted him.

                “You thought people wouldn’t find out? You thought I wouldn’t tell people? You dragged Penny into this whole mess. “ Penny startled at the sound of her name.

                He turned to face the crowd. “Nathan isn’t what you think. He’s-“ Billy was cut off by Nathan tackling him.

                “You little nerd! You need to learn when to keep your stupid mouth shut. Or I’ll shut it for you,” Nathan snarled, punching him.

                “NO!” Penny screamed, running over to them. Nathan was pounding Billy senseless. “Nathan, stop it!” She tugged at his arm, and felt a fist connect with the side of her face. Everything went black.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                The next thing she knew, Billy’s hand was on the side of her face, as his other hand gently shook her shoulder. “Penny? Penny!”

                “Billy? Is that you?” she asked groggily.

                “Penny, hold on,” he said.

                “Are you alright?” she asked, remembering how Nathan had punched him over, and over. And then….then he’d punched her.

                “Don’t worry about me. Are you okay?” He looked so worried. She smiled up at him.

                “Everything’s a little fuzzy. And my head hurts,” she confided. “Where’s Nathan?”

                His face contorted. “He…well…I….He’s gone. He ran out after you blacked out, and I don’t think he’s coming back.”

                “Good,” she said, sighing and leaning her head back. “He really was a jerk, wasn’t he?”

                “He really was,” Billy agreed.

                “Do you….” she started, but trailed off.

                “Penny,” he said, and she looked up at him, blinking groggily. “Do you want to go out with me?”

                A grin spread across her face. “I’d love to.”

                His face lit up. “How about frozen yogurt?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!  
> The story itself is complete, but I'm going to add one more chapter, which will explain how Billy and Nathan know each other, and what BIlly knows about him. 
> 
> This was so fun to write. Do you like the different ending? I didn't think it made sense with the AU for Penny to die. And of course she had to end up with Billy.  
> Thank you to the two guests who have left kudos.  
> EW

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all!  
> Thanks so much for reading!  
> This will probably be four chapters (one for each act, and then a final one from Billy's perspective to fill in a few of the AU holes.  
> Let me know what you think in the comments!
> 
> EW


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